1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to delivering air and water from a dental syringe device to a dental patient, and specifically, to an improved tip of the device and adapter of the device that connects a dental syringe body of the device to the tip.
2. Description of Related Art
Syringes mechanically pump liquid or gas through a cylindrical tube, referred to as a barrel, using a mechanical plunger that can be pushed and pulled. Syringes include a tip, also referred to as a needle or nozzle, that dispense the liquid or gas pumped through the tube. Syringes are often used to administer medical injections, apply compounds such as glue, and extract liquid samples from a medial patient such as withdrawing blood from a vein.
In the dental field, a dental engine is located nearby the patient and the dentist, where the dental engine is a large appliance that typically includes a small table to hold an instrument tray, a light, a computer display, a small faucet, and mouth rinsing sink. Additionally, the dental engine that delivers power to the dentist's hand tools such as an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus and an air and water dental syringe device.
The air and water dental syringe device supplies water, air, or mist to the patient's mouth to clean away debris from the area that the dentist is working on. The term dental syringe could also refer to local anesthetic syringe that delivers drugs to a dental patient.
Conventional air and water dental syringe devices are handheld and deliver air and water under pressure. These devices contain valves and buttons on the body of the device that allow for selective discharge of water or air. These devices are widely used by dentists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, dental assistants, and dental hygienists and similar personnel.
It is very important to keep the dental syringe devices clean. Of principal concern, is avoiding cross contamination, which is the undesirable transfer of bacteria or virus from one patient to another through the reuse of the device. Traditionally, syringe tips were all metal, reusable, and required cleaning before reuse. More recently, to avoid cross contamination, most dental syringe tips are disposable and plastic. The disposable tips eliminate the risk of cross contamination between patients if a dental tip is not sufficiently cleaned before reuse unlike the conventional all metal tip. Using a new disposable tip for every single use is currently the most desirable approach to reduce cross contamination.
A problem with disposable dental syringe devices is effectively connecting and disconnecting the tip to the dental syringe body. The dental syringe body is often times referred to in the art simply as a dental syringe. It is desirable for the tip and body to adapt to each other easily and quickly. Most early dental syringe devices did not have an adapter, which presented a risk of cross contamination from reuse of the dental syringe body. More recently, many of the dental syringes include an adapter which is easier to clean and replace. However, conventional adapters are not easy to use because they do not allow the tips to be quickly and easily connected and disconnected from the body of the dental syringe.
Another problem with conventional dental syringe devices is achieving sufficient and consistent air flow through the device. Conventional tips have air channels with very small and uneven diameters which produce inadequate air-flow which generate uneven water sprays.
A further problem with conventional dental syringe devices is that new disposable tips are made of a plastic that does not provide the cheek retraction function provided by the traditional all metal tips. The cheek retraction function is where a device opens a patient's cheeks away such that the medical professional can see and access an area of interest within the patient's mouth during a procedure. The disposable plastic tips which are currently in use compromise the cheek retraction function because the bends too easily and thus does not keep the patient's mouth open. Metal tips are currently not a feasible solution due to cost and environmental waste concerns.
U.S. Patent Publication number 2013/0260333, abandoned, by Berkely is directed to a seamless air/water dental syringe tip adapter systems and conversion methods. Specifically, conversion assemblies enable an air/water dental syringe adapted for connection to an existing tip such as an autoclavable tip to instead receive disposable tip. A conversion kit includes a cap subassembly with a cap body having a distal opening into which the disposable tip is inserted, and an adapter subassembly having a proximal end configured for connection to the syringe body and a distal end configured for coupling to the cap subassembly. The adapter subassembly includes one or more components with cut-outs, grooves or channels to direct air and water from the syringe body to the air-carrying channels and water-carrying tube of the disposable tip through the cap subassembly. However, Berkely discloses a conversion assembly and not a component for connecting and disconnecting the tip.
Non-patent literature by Forest Dental, entitled syringe quick release with a tip, includes a dental syringe having a tip, a syringe body, and an adapter assembly. The literature describes a quick release button for the removing of the tip, although the tip appears to be removed by rotating a slot on an adapter until it is aligned with a pin on the adapter to release the tip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,356 issued to Davis is directed to a dental syringe tip and adaptor. The device includes a clear rigid plastic syringe tip having a central water passageway and three arcuate section air passageways disposed circumferentially about the water passageway. A rigid plastic is preferred to fulfill the need to use the tip for continued retraction of the cheek, and tongue by the dental operator. A novel adaptor is used to mount the syringe tip to the handpiece body. The air and water orifices in the tip are quite small, so any plugged of the tip orifices results in both a loss of spray pressure as well as a loss of spray accuracy. A more sterile dental environment is created as well as the flow of air, water or spray form the syringe to the oral cavity. However, Davis falls short of truly simplifying the connecting and disconnecting of the tip to the syringe body and a tip could be bent and allows proper air flow.